The Wonderful World of Horses

The three-week-old star of Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad now has a name: Hope.

Anheuser-Busch said Tuesday that its contest to find a name for the foal born Jan. 16 at the company’s Clydesdale ranch in mid-Missouri generated more than 60,000 tweets, Facebook comments and other messages.

Hope was one of the more popular names generated through the social media effort.

“We were overwhelmed by the response we got,” Lori Shambro, brand director for Budweiser, said in a statement.

“Many of our fans wanted a name to reflect their optimism and spirit, which the name Hope encapsulates beautifully,” Shambro said.

The foal now weighs 200 pounds and will weigh roughly 2,000 pounds when she is grown, said John Soto, supervisor of Warm Springs Ranch, where Anheuser-Busch raises Clydesdales near Boonville, Mo.

Hope was the second Clydesdale born at Warm Springs Ranch this year.

“This newest member of the Budweiser Clydesdale family was 7 days old on the day this part of the Super Bowl commercial was filmed,” said Jeff Knapper, general manager of Clydesdale operations, in a press release. More than 30 Clydesdales are expected to be born in 2013.

First aired in 1967, this commercial was the first featuring the Budweiser Clydesdales — and it is still one of the best. The jingle has stayed in my head for decades: “Here comes the King, here comes the Big Number One.”

The commercial has played for fans at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, who after several Buds, clap like puppets in time with the song.

The Extra Point

“Nah, they usually go for two.” This 1996 spot was Bud’s first Super Bowl commercial featuring the Clydesdales, and remains the most memorable.

It’s featured on many lists of the best Super Bowl commercials ever made.

The world famous Budweiser Clydesdales delivered 18 fillies and 10 colts in the breeding season that ended last May at the Warm Spring Ranch in Boonville, Missouri.

Between 30 and 40 Clydesdale foals are born at Warm Springs Ranch each season. Dedicated staff is on-site around the clock to ensure the baby Clydesdales are welcomed into the world in comfort and safety.

Warm Springs Ranch has a 25,000-square-foot breeding barn with a veterinary lab and 10 pastures, each with a customized, walk-in shelter and free-flowing water dispensers. The farm sits on 300-plus acres of land.

The Clydesdales born with the proper markings for a Budweiser Clydesdale – a bay coat, a blaze of white on the face, four white stocking feet, and a black mane and tail – have a future spot on one of the traveling hitches.

The ranch is open to visitors by reservation daily except Wednesday for tours that last about 90 minutes.

Last year more than 11,000 people visited the ranch to see the Clydesdales, which have been a symbol of Budweiser since 1933.

When did Anheuser-Busch acquire the famous Budweiser Clydesdales?They were formally introduced to August A. Busch Sr. and Anheuser-Busch on April 7, 1933, to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition. August A. Busch Jr. wanted to commemorate the special day.

To his father’s delight, the hitch thundered down Pestalozzi Street carrying the first case of post-Prohibition beer from the St. Louis brewery.

August Anheuser Busch Jr. was a master showman and irrepressible salesman who turned a small family operation into the world’s largest brewing company.

What are the qualifications to be a Budweiser Clydesdale?To qualify for one of the six hitches (five traveling and one stationary), a Budweiser Clydesdale must be a gelding at least four years of age.

He must stand 72 inches, or 6 feet, at the shoulder when fully mature, weigh between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds, be bay in color, have four white stocking feet, a blaze of white on the face, and a black mane and tail.

How much food and water do the Clydesdales need?Each hitch horse will consume as much as 20 to 25 quarts of whole grains, minerals and vitamins, 50 to 60 pounds of hay and 30 gallons of water per day.

Where are the Budweiser Clydesdale hitches located?Five traveling Budweiser Clydesdale hitches are based in St. Louis, Missouri; Menifee, California; San Diego, California; Merrimack, New Hampshire; and San Antonio, Texas.

The Budweiser Clydesdales can be viewed at the Anheuser-Busch breweries in St. Louis, Merrimack and Ft. Collins, Colorado.

The Budweiser Clydesdales also may be viewed at Grant’s Farm, the 281-acre ancestral home of the Busch family, in St. Louis and at the following Anheuser-Busch theme parks:
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Tampa, Florida, and at the SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, Florida; San Diego, California; and San Antonio, Texas

Where is the official home of the Budweiser Clydesdales?The official home of the Budweiser Clydesdales is an ornate brick and stained-glass stable built in 1885 on the historic 100-acre Anheuser-Busch brewery complex in St. Louis.

The building is one of three located on the brewery grounds that are registered as historic landmarks by the federal government.

Who travels with the Clydesdales?Expert groomers travel on the road with the hitch. They are on the road at least 10 months every year. When necessary, one handler has night duty to provide round-the-clock care for the horses, ensuring their safety and comfort.

How do the Clydesdales get to all of their appearances?Twelve horses, the famous red, white and gold beer wagon and other essential equipment are transported in three 50-foot tractor trailers.

Cameras in the trailers (with monitors in the cabs) enable the drivers to keep a watchful eye on their precious cargo during transport.

The team stops each night at local stables so the “gentle giants” can rest. Air-cushion suspension and thick rubber flooring in the trailers ease the rigors of traveling.

Is driving the hitch a difficult job?Driving the 12 tons of wagon and horses requires quite a bit of strength and skill. The 40 pounds of reins the driver holds, plus the tension of the reins, equals 75 pounds.

All hitch drivers are put through a rigorous training period before they are given the reins.

Can you describe a Budweiser Clydesdale’s harness?Each harness and collar weighs approximately 130 pounds. The harness is handcrafted from brass and leather. Pure linen thread is used for the stitching.

The harness is made to fit any horse, but the collars come in different sizes and must be individually fitted like a suit of clothes.

Do the Clydesdales have names?Duke, Captain, Mark and Bud are just a few of the names given to the Budweiser Clydesdales. Names are kept short to make it easier for the driver to give commands to the horses during a performance.

How big are the Clydesdales’ horseshoes?Clydesdale horseshoes measure more than 20 inches from end to end and weigh about five pounds – more than twice as long and five times as heavy as the shoe worn by a riding horse.

A horse’s hoof is made of a nerveless, horn-like substance similar to the human fingernail, so being fitted for shoes affects the animal no more than a manicure affects people.

Why does a Dalmatian accompany the hitch?Dalmatians have traveled with the Clydesdale hitch since the 1950s. The Dalmatian’s original purpose was to guard the hitch (and protect the beer) as the driver made his beer deliveries.

The Dalmatian breed long has been associated with horses and valued for their speed, endurance and dependable nature.

Dalmatians were also known as coach dogs, because they ran between the wheels of coaches or carriages and were companions to the horses.

Today, the Dalmatians are perched atop the wagon, seated next to the driver.

What kind of wagons are used?The wagons are Studebaker wagons (circa 1900) that were converted to deliver beer.The wagons have two braking systems; a hydraulic pedal device that slows the vehicle for turns and descents down hills, and a foot brake that locks the rear wheels when the wagon is stationary.

How many horses travel as a team?Groups of ten Clydesdales travel together as a hitch team. Eight Clydesdales are hitched together to pull the wagon. Two horses travel as alternates.

What determines the placement of each horse?The physical ability of each horse determines its position in the hitch. Wheelhorses (the pair closest to the wagon) must be large and strong enough to start the wagon’s movement and to use their weight to help slow or stop the vehicle.

The body (second position) and swing (third position) pairs must be agile to turn the wagon. The leaders (the pair in front, furthest from the wagon) must be the fastest and most agile pair.

So when she heard that the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales were visiting Kent, Ohio this past October, the 78-year-old Springfield Township woman wasn’t about to miss a chance to see them.

”These are my favorite,” she said, as she stood on the sidewalk with her husband Joe, 79, waiting for the horses to appear.

Why?

”I don’t know,” she said. ”I know God created them and they are magnificent. Absolutely magnificent. Some people get thrilled over race cars, but let me look at a horse in motion.”

At the Budweiser event police estimated that at least 2,000 people came downtown to catch a glimpse of the giant draft horses as they paraded along city streets.

The crowd was so enthusiastic that as soon as the three black, custom-made tractor-trailers carrying the eight horses and special beer wagon stopped, people encircled the trucks to make sure they got a close-up view.

Parents hoisted children onto their shoulders. And many toted cameras to capture the moment.

“This is the most exciting thing Kent has seen for a long time,” Clara Samblanet, 70, of Kent said as she and her daughter and grandchildren watched the horses being readied.

Joseph Jordan, an Anheuser-Busch market manager who lives in Rootstown Township and is a Kent State University graduate, arranged the visit with the help of Main Street Kent. The horses made the stop on their way to the Cleveland Browns game.

The horses, which weigh about 2,000 pounds each and stand over 6 feet tall at the shoulder, clip-clopped their way through downtown delivering Budweiser to bars and restaurants along the route.

A Dalmatian was perched on top of the red, white and gold Studebaker-built wagon. And the two drivers wore green suits.

As soon as the horses started moving, the crowd applauded.

Brad Patterson, the owner of The Loft, accepted a bottle of Bud on behalf of his bar.

“It was great,” he said. ”That’s a pretty classy operation.”

The Clydesdales, featured for years in advertising campaigns, made their debut for Anheuser-Busch in 1933, when August A. Busch Jr. presented the horses and beer wagon to his father to commemorate the first bottle of beer brewed in St. Louis after Prohibition.

Recognizing the advertising potential, the brewery sent the horses throughout the East Coast, even to deliver a case of beer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House.

Today, there are six teams of horses, with five of them traveling to hundreds of events a year.